It's a bright and sunny Monday in April in Regensburg. Service technicians Christoph Friedl and Andreas Singerer meet at MR to load their vehicle, because they have a job to do. This time they are traveling to the Czech Republic to maintain the three tap changers of a phase-shifting transformer. They were contracted by ČEPS, the Czech Republic's only transmission system operator and thus responsible for keeping the lights on in the country.
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- Globalization
- Impulses overview
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Transformer manufacturers
- South America's champions of the energy transition
- Traction Transformers – Future on the Rail
- Time of the giants: XXL transformers for more power
- "Reinhausen is ready to deliver!"
- Oversized de-energized tap-changers
- The most powerful transformers in the world for a 1,100 kV HVDC line in China
- "We are in a growth market with the VRDT"
- Digitalization turnaround: GANZ Intelligent Solutions relies on cooperation with MR
- "Transitioning to a solution provider presents a major opportunity for transformer manufacturers – and digitalization can help!"
-
Digitalization
- How AI can lend a hand
- myReinhausen: MR's central digital customer platform
- Why data centers (may) never fail
- Automation? (Cyber-) Secure!
- Remote Solutions: Professional help from a distance
- "Digitalization of the power grids will only work with comprehensive security measures"
- Why are you digitizing your transformers? Three questions for Rúnar Svavar Svavarsson.
- Six challenges, six solutions – Intelligent sensors for safe transformers
-
Energy transition
- 5 theses on the energy transition
- The VRDT is the ideal solution to solve voltage problems in our distribution grids
- Making transformers more sustainable
- 940 tons of power regulation
- Sunny prospects: Municipal solar storage devices
- Four reasons why regulated distribution grids are the future
- "The energy transition is taking place in the distribution grids"
- Five theses on the future of power grids
- Storage at all network levels
- Test systems for the energy revolution
- Climate change, energy revolution and the future of power grids?
- A new design for utility poles
-
Wind and solar power
- The North Sea as Europe's green power plant
- Sahara electricity - safe for the island
- Are wind farms the new power plants?
- Direct current at all grid levels
- The MSCDN plant – the new "power plant generator" for stable grids
- Clean power grid with high-frequency filters
- Weatherproof cable testing for offshore wind parks
- VRDTs for Australia's distribution grids
-
Lifetime optimization
- Top service for a long transformer life
- Precise condition assessment of transformers with TESSA® APM
- Digital transformer check - MR provides training at thyssenkrupp's steelworks
- How ISO 55000 facilitates asset management
- Clever fleet management for transformers
- Retrofit: Bushing monitoring for phase shifters
- Retrofit: Breathing new life into old transformers thanks to new tap changers
-
Power supply in industry
- When every second counts: how MR can help with power outages in industry
- More power for Phoenix
- Get the most out of Green H2 - with proven MR Solutions
- Waste water generates energy
- Asian industry uses voltage regulation distribution transformers in the fight against fluctuating grids
- Putting an End to Harmonics in Industries
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Globalization
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Career
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Company
Top service for a long transformer life
Around 300 MR service technicians are on call worldwide. An order from the transmission grid operator ČEPS in the Czech Republic shows how regular tap-changer maintenance can support the secure energy supply of an entire country.
Top service for a long transformer life
Around 300 MR service technicians are on call worldwide. An order from the transmission grid operator ČEPS in the Czech Republic shows how regular tap-changer maintenance can support the secure energy supply of an entire country.
Czech Republic's central network node
The Czech energy grid is highly dependent on transit. A large proportion of the energy imported and later exported comes from Germany and enters the country via the Hradec substation near Kadaň, which is operated by ČEPS. It is one of the largest and most important substations in the Czech Republic. The four phase-shifting transformers located there, with a capacity of 850 MVA, are of particular importance. When there is a high level of wind energy production in the neighboring country, there are sometimes major voltage fluctuations in the cross-border electricity transmission. The phase shifters compensate for these fluctuations by shifting the overload in such a way that the grid as a whole is better utilized, which leads to a higher transmission capacity in the extra-high voltage grid. This also makes expensive redispatch measures unnecessary. The phase shifters in Hradec thus act as a buffer against fluctuating volumes of German wind power, which has to pass through these transformers – and thus also through the on-load tap-changers from MR.

„Working directly with MR ensures that we get the best possible service quality for our systems and the availability of original spare parts.“
Jan Lála, Head of Maintenance Region West at CEPS
When Christoph and Andreas arrive at ČEPS in Hradec, the transformer to be serviced is no longer energized. After draining the insulating oil, the ČEPS employees use a crane to lift the three tap changers, blackened by the oil, out of the transformer. Now the two MR service technicians can take the tap changers to the substation workshop and get to work.
are working for MR worldwide
Andreas and Christoph are two of 300 service technicians working for MR worldwide. As head of Global Execution & Product Services, Uwe Seltsam is responsible, among other things, for ensuring that their training is a success and that service work is carried out to the highest quality standards. “Our service calls can basically be divided into two areas. On the one hand, there are those that involve unplanned and very time-critical cases that require quick action. In such cases, our specialists set out immediately and usually arrive at the customer's site within 24 hours.
Often, the problem is so serious that the transformer is already damaged,” says Uwe Seltsam. If production comes to a halt in such a case, it costs a lot of money with every hour that passes. On the other hand, our more frequent deployments involve “routine maintenance” as in Hradec. Seltsam emphasizes: “The on-load tap-changer is very robust. If it is maintained as we recommend, it can even outlive its transformer. But for maintenance, a high level of system knowledge and experience is required.”

„Our technicians are extensively trained, and deliver MR quality around the world.“
Uwe Seltsam, Department Manager
Measure, clean, check
In the workshop, the service technicians now go through all the necessary steps with practiced ease. Christoph knows the tap changers like the back of his hand. “Our products are designed for maximum efficiency. There isn't a single screw too many, and every small component has a very specific function. If you don't know what that is, you can't take care of the part.”

The tap changers get a good soaking in the oil pan. Christoph starts with a visual check here and looks for any signs of defects.

On the open tap changer, they meticulously put all components through their paces.

Cleaned, tested and serviced, the on-load tap-changers are returned to the transformer. The insulating oil is then reintroduced and test switching operations are carried out.
A workshop like a transformer plant
The workshop in Hradec is as well equipped as a transformer plant and even has a large oil pan in which the 100-kilogram diverter switch inserts can drip dry. Once everything has been measured, tested, cleaned and serviced, the diverter switch inserts are reassembled. A tap-changer service normally takes eight to ten hours, so there is not much leeway for delays. After three days, the service at ČEPS is complete: the tap changers are reinstalled by crane, the oil is refilled, and test switching operations are carried out. The service technicians then officially hand the transformer back to the operator together with their service report.
Service technicians are doers
MR's team of service technicians welcomes career changers with an electrical or mechatronics background. They undergo a full year of intensive training to gain the comprehensive expert knowledge that characterizes MR.

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